


Unknown Caller

by WellSchitt



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: I'm in a sappy mood, M/M, Panic Attacks, Sad, Sibling Love, honestly just sappy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-22 18:54:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19971502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WellSchitt/pseuds/WellSchitt
Summary: Patrick, 10:03 am: Alexis get here NOW. Please.Patrick, 10:03 am: David’s having a panic attack and he’s asking for you. I don’t know what to do. Please.





	Unknown Caller

**Author's Note:**

> Note that while this is rated G, there are potentially upsetting themes and I chose not to use warnings. If you've concerned about any triggers, scroll down to the endnotes before reading.

David’s ringtone was Beyoncé and Lady Gaga’s ‘Telephone.’

Patrick kind of hated that song, but he wasn’t sure their relationship would survive if he actually told David that, so he just grit his teeth—yet again—when David refused to either answer or mute it. It went to voicemail just as Bob and Gwen walked into the store.

“David,” Patrick scolded when it promptly rang again.

“Unknown caller?” David asked the phone incredulously, glaring.

“Could be that new flower vendor, or the guy to fix the heater,” Patrick said under his breath on his way towards the customers. “Hi Gwen, Bob. Anything I can help you with today?”

“Old people need to learn to text,” David said, fortunately quiet enough that the Curries wouldn’t hear him. Nevertheless he went obediently to answer the call in the back room.

Gwen usually took forever to browse, but today they were just in for some dish soap. Patrick managed to up-sell them the new tea by offering them a sample from the carafe at the register—he rarely went to bat against David for a product, but he’d been right about this one.

Which meant, of course, that he had to rub it in David’s face a little.

“David! Another tea, it’s doing well!” He called after Bob and Gwen were around the corner and wouldn’t be able to hear him.

David didn’t answer.

“Come on, don’t pout.”

More silence.

“David, I just know tea better than you. It’s _one_ thing. You’re still the creative genius behind Rose Apothecary.”

Patrick got distracted for a minute wiping down the counter, and it took awhile before he realized that he still hadn’t heard a peep.

“David, what are you...” He walked to the back room and found David sitting in a tight ball in one corner, pale and hyperventilating.

“Jesus.” Patrick dropped hard to his knees in front of him. “David, sweetheart, what happened?” They didn’t really do pet names, it just tumbled out unbidden.

David just shook his head and gestured to his chest.

“Ok, try to match my breathing, alright? Focus on how I’m breathing and try to match that. Can I touch you?”

Shaking his head harshly, David rasped, “Alexis.”

“You want... Alexis? You want me to call your sister?” Patrick asked, bewildered, because _what?_

But David nodded forcefully, and more words tumbled out. “Alexis. I need- I- can you call her? I tried but I dropped my phone, and I need to tell her, I can’t-”

Patrick realized that his phone was sitting on the floor beside him, a large crack in the screen.

“Ok! Ok, just keep breathing, alright? I’m calling her now. I’m right here, love.” He kept his breathing slow and deliberate, his voice calm and soothing.

He saw David try, very hard, to slow his breathing—and saw him fail. He sobbed once and his head dropped to his knees, his arms coming up to hug his legs to his chest.

“It’s alright. You’re alright,” Patrick repeated desperately as the phone chimed in his ear. Alexis didn’t answer. He redialed—nothing.

 _This whole goddamn family_ , Patrick thought, opening his texts.

 **Patrick, 10:03 am:** Alexis get here NOW. Please.  
**Patrick, 10:03 am:** David’s having a panic attack and he’s asking for you. I don’t know what to do. Please.

 **Alexis, 10:05 am:** omg tell him he doesn’t need 2 diet for the wedding I was jk

 **Patrick, 10:06 am:** It’s not that, he told me about that last night  
**Patrick, 10:06 am:** Please I think something’s really wrong

 **Alexis, 10:09 am:** omw, did he say anything?  
**Alexis, 10:09 am:** Ur place or store?  
**Alexis, 10:09 am:** 📞?

 **Patrick, 10:10 am:** We’re at the store. He’s struggling just to breathe, I don’t think he could talk right now  
**Patrick, 10:10 am:** He took a phone call from an unknown number and then I found him in the storage room  
**Patrick, 10:11 am:** He asked for you and now he’s crying  
**Patrick, 10:13 am:** eta please it’s really bad

 **Alexis, 10:13 am:** 10 min Teds driving

 **Patrick, 10:13 am:** Thank you  
**Patrick, 10:13 am:** We’re talking about the diet comment later

 **Alexis, 10:14 am:** omg it was a joke

Patrick sat close to David’s side, still not touching him even though he ached to. “She’s almost here, ok? Alexis is on her way. She’s coming.”

“I have to tell her,” David said, but the sentence ended in a sob.

“You will, ok? You will,” Patrick said nonsensically. If Alexis couldn’t calm him then he’d have to take him to the hospital, but he knew saying it would just cause more panic now. David hated hospitals. “Do you want your parents here, too?”

David shook his head again, eyes clenched shut, tightening his arms around his knees.

—

David seemed to calm a little over the next few minutes, and finally the front door to the store banged open. “David! I brought Ativan!” Alexis and Ted stormed into the small room.

“If that wasn’t prescribed to him then he probably shouldn’t… oh it’s already down the hatch, sure, never mind,” Ted said, following Alexis into the room.

“Ted, let’s give them some space?” Patrick started to guide him out. They were going to crowd David if they all stayed in the small room looming over him.

“No, it’s- it’s fine.” David looked at his sister, tears in his eyes. “Adelina,” he said, then had to pause. “Manuel called. Adelina had an aneurism. It...” his lip trembled. “It was quick, and probably- probably painless- and-”

Patrick couldn’t see Alexis’s face, but he saw her shoulders start to shake. Sitting up straighter and kicking out his legs, David opened his arms and she fell into them.

 _Who’s Adelina?_ Patrick thought desperately, staring down at them.

Ted saved him a moment later. “Their nanny,” he said quietly, seeing the look on Patrick’s face. He walked to put a hand on Alexis’s shoulder for a moment. “She was... well, she was there when Johnny and Moira were less...” he waved his hand, and Patrick understood without him saying more. He and Ted had opinions about the Rose parents, and their children’s upbringing, that they would only ever share with each other.

David had mentioned his nanny a few times, and Patrick had been able to tell he was fond of her, but not like this. He’d never even mentioned a name.

As the siblings cried into each other’s arms, the bell to the store rang.

“We’re closed!” Patrick shouted, much more harshly than he’d intended. When he peeked his head out the door, he saw Ronnie and her wife walking away, shaking their heads. 

_Of course._

He couldn’t find the energy to worry about it. After reassuring himself that David was calmer now that Alexis was with him, Patrick jogged over to flip the open sign and turn the lock.

—

“Want me to sing that song?”

“God, no. I want my good memories untainted, thank you.”

Half an hour later, Alexis had opened a bottle of the store’s wine (Patrick let it go), David was having a glass despite the Ativan (Patrick let that go, too), and they were all sitting on the floor in the store room. He and Ted mostly listened as David and Alexis, sitting side by side but no longer clinging to each other, told them a little about Adelina.

“Remember when she grounded us, and then mom tried to take you to Cannes?”

“Adelina ruled with an iron fist,” David explained, smiling weakly at Patrick. “Mom just had to deal.”

“Why did she ground you?” Patrick asked. He wanted so badly to hold him, but he was slumped in the corner still.

“I think we were rude to a gardener? I don’t know. It happened more than once.”

“Remember when she came to my dance recital? Mom and Dad were supposed to be there, but they couldn’t—I don’t remember why-”

“And she made me take her instead,” David smiled. “You were terrible, by the way. She made me get dressed up, and she bought you hideous flowers from a drug store.”

“Yeah.”

“She was-" David broke again for a moment, but it passed. “I hadn’t talked to her much, since she retired. But she called to RSVP for the wedding.”

Patrick had to cover his mouth with his hand. _God, David._ He hadn’t known he’d invited her.

“She was going to come?” Ted asked.

“Yes.” David wiped his eyes again. “She said she had airline miles she needed to use.”

“She loved you. Both of you,” Ted said, smiling gently.

Alexis laid her head on David’s shoulder. “Yeah. She spoiled David, though.”

“Oh my god, she spoiled _you_!” David replied, and accusations of extra cookies and days home sick from school watching telenovelas flew between them.

—

David was visibly exhausted by the time they got home, even though it was barely six o’clock. They’d all gone to an early dinner together at the cafe, and it wasn’t lost on Patrick that no one called the Rose parents.

Patrick kissed his forehead as they put down their things in the living room. “Maybe skip the night cream and... whatever else?”

“I’ll just wash my face, brush, and floss,” David said, which meant that he was so tired he was barely keeping himself upright.

They crawled into bed a few moments later, and Patrick finally, finally was able to wrap his fiancé up in his arms.

“I love you. I’m sorry.”

“Mm.” David turned his head. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about her as much, before.”

“You don’t have to explain,” Patrick murmured, though he had been wondering.

“It’s... my parents are trying to do better now. That’s part of it. And the rest is... I don’t know.” David squirmed around to face him. “Don’t get mad at me.”

“I don’t think I could today, sweetheart.”

“Are we doing sweetheart? Really?”

“Today we are. Maybe tomorrow, too.”

“Hm.” Evidently accepting that answer, David continued, “I’ve dated people who didn’t grow up like I did, before. Who didn’t grow up with capital-M-Money. And when I talked about Adelina, they didn’t... they thought she was just the help, or… I don’t know.”

“You were worried I wouldn’t understand what she meant to you.”

“I’m sorry,” David said.

“Don’t be sorry. I’m glad you told me now.”

David turned back around, nestling against Patrick’s body. His shoulders shook occasionally. After a few minutes he sat up to blow his nose, then said quietly, “The funeral is next week.”

“Alright. We’ll ask Stevie and your Dad to cover the store. Or we’ll close it, if we need to.”

“We don’t have the money, though,” David whispered. “To close the store. Or for the plane, for a hotel.”

Patrick smiled. “Believe it or not—and I’m really not teasing—I have airline miles saved up. I was going to try to take you on a fancy honeymoon, but... if we go somewhere less expensive, or maybe delay the trip by a few months...”

David turned around and kissed him hard on the mouth. His face was wet. “You wouldn’t mind? Really?”

“Of course I wouldn’t.”

The look on David’s face was pure love. Patrick had to kiss him again.

“Usually it would take my heart stopping to get me to attend a funeral,” David said, laying down again.

“This is different, though.”

David nodded. “I wish you had been able to meet her,” he said, finally snuggling in to try to sleep.

“Me, too,” Patrick said. Then, hesitantly, “I bet she’d have been really proud of you, seeing the store and everything.”

David exhaled harshly. “She said that. On the phone. I told her about things here, you and the store, and she said- she said that.”

Patrick tightened his arms. “Well there you go, then.”

Finally David fell asleep, and Patrick laid in bed feeling grateful to a stranger who had done her best to love two lonely kids all those years ago.

**Author's Note:**

> TW for grief over a minor character death
> 
> I'm on tumblr at well-schitt.tumblr.com <3


End file.
